This invention relates to a process and an apparatus for cooking a mass of scrambled eggs.
It is often useful in the agricultural food industry to have available cooked scrambled eggs which can be incorporated in other ingredients to prepare a given dish, for example for deep-freezing.
So far as applicants are aware, there has hitherto been no way of cooking a mass of scrambled eggs amounting to several tens of kilograms.
The main problem involved, which has not yet been satisfactorily solved, is to be able homogeneously to cook a mass of scrambled eggs. More particularly, it would be useful if homogeneous and controlled coagulation could be ensured throughout the mass.
Accordingly, the problem addressed by the present invention was to provide a process and an apparatus for industrially cooking a mass of scrambled eggs amounting to several tens of kilograms.
The present invention relates to a process for preparing scrambled eggs by cooking a homogenized mass of eggs, in which water and starches have been incorporated, in an enclosure where steam under pressure is injected into the mass from within the mass, the enclosure being additionally heated through its wall.
The present invention also relates to an apparatus for carrying out the above process in which an injection system for injecting steam under pressure is arranged in an enclosure in a lower part thereof, the enclosure, as exemplified below, being closed in its upper part by a cover and comprising a double-jacketed tank in which a heating fluid circulates.
By virtue of the combination of cooking of the mass from outside by the double jacket and from inside by the injection of steam, the mass of scrambled eggs can be homogeneously coagulated, thus avoiding the appearance of overcooked parts and uncooked or undercooked parts.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawing provided solely by way of example.
The drawing figure is a diagrammatic partial vertical section through an apparatus according to the invention.